NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    LONDON (CWNews.com) - A Catholic school in northeast England will receive an award for the quality of its sex education -- from a "charity" which promotes artificial birth control and abortion.

    According to a report in Thursday's Catholic Times newspaper, St. Thomas More High School, in Tyne and Wear, is to accept a small cash prize from the Family Planning Association (FPA). The award is dedicated to the memory of Pamela Sheridan who believed in "the ability to use contraception effectively."

    The pro-life charity Life has demanded that the school makes its sex education policy publicly available. "I think the Catholic community is entitled to know what their policy is," said Life trustee Nuala Scarisbrick. "The FPA does not normally uphold the truth of the Catholic faith. The materials I have read do not promote the kind of attitudes toward sex that concerned Catholics, Christians, Muslims, and orthodox Jews would approve."

    She added, "They are value free. They do not promote abstinence and chastity or that human life begins at conception. They also promote abortifacients such as the morning-after pill which can cause an abortion."

    Colin Finlay, senior pastoral tutor at St. Thomas More, defended the school's decision to accept the award. "Our emphasis is on creating understanding, including understanding other people's points of view," he said. "We talk about all points of view in a non-judgemental fashion. We follow the ethos of not throwing the first stone."

    "We stress that sex is meant to be part of a loving relationship with the possibility of children and preferably within a married relationship," he continued.

    FPA is affiliated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

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